Mustangs Tally Three to Beat Aliso Niguel, Finish Third in South Coast League

A season’s worth of  action still wasn’t enough to determine how the girls soccer standings shaped up in the competitive South Coast League. After finishing with identical league records and two head-to-head ties, Trabuco Hills and Aliso Niguel faced off on Friday evening for the South Coast’s third and final automatic berth into the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs.

Led by three goals off the foot of Jenny Konishi, Trabuco Hills picked up a 3-2 victory over the visiting Wolverines in the third round of their series. Konishi scored twice in the contest’s final 20 minutes, when the Mustangs surged back from a 2-1 deficit.

The junior forward notched her first goal as the game neared intermission. Konishi worked her way around a defender before slipping a point-blank shot past Aliso Niguel goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prud’homme with four minutes remaining until halftime.

Trabuco Hills (12-7-5, 3-3-3 in league) opened the second half ahead, 1-0, but saw their advantage quickly disappear. The Wolverines (10-8-4, 2-4-3) tied the score in the 45th minute, when the ball bounced off Mustangs senior defender Sam Fillon and found its way into the net.

Aliso Niguel grabbed the lead under 10 minutes later, when Lauren Benner used an acrobatic bicycle kick to send the ball streaming past Trabuco Hills’ defense. The junior midfielder showed incredible body control with the score and put the Wolverines in position to pick up a pivotal road win.

Aliso Niguel nearly netted a third consecutive score in the 60th minute, but Mustangs goalkeeper Kassidie Stade stopped the bleeding. Stade faced an undefended attacker but was able to stand her ground and step in front of the shot attempt.

After facing only one shot in the first half, Stade saw five come her way in the second.

"Kassidie is solid back there and came up huge for us,” Trabuco Hills coach Sarah Trost said. “She made some amazing saves and she really captains our defense. It’s important that we rally around her and I think our girls were fired up after she made a couple big saves.”

The Mustangs certainly responded to her Stade’s play for the remainder of the match. Only one minute removed from the save, Konishi buried her second score of the game after receiving a well-timed centering pass from senior Jessica Kantor.

"Jenny is an incredible player," Trost said. "She's one of those kids that has a fifth gear and can turn it on. She doesn't give up and has been very consistent for us. She had a heck of a game tonight."

Konishi’s memorable performance continued in the 65th minute, when she put back a rebound for the go-ahead goal that ultimately proved to be the difference. Trabuco Hills' defense, anchored by Wake Forest-bound senior Jessica Mandrich, never allowed another Aliso Niguel scoring opportunity the rest of the way.

“It was really a team effort,” Konishi said. “We’ve worked so hard for this all year and it really paid off. Aliso is a good matchup and we tied them both times this season, so we came out with that mentality that we had to play our hardest.”

Trabuco Hills’ victory gives the team a more favorable draw in the Division 1 playoff bracket, which is set to be unveiled Monday. Aliso Niguel must settle for an at-large bid and an uphill postseason battle.

"I'm hoping that this has peaked us at the right time," Trost said. "Going into CIF [playoffs] we know there's going to be battles like this every game. Hopefully, this teaches us to fight to the very end, whether you're up a goal or down a goal."

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